The Siphon G, by Accurascale - From Milk To Mail!

[Wickham Green too]

9 hours ago, Not Jeremy said:

... latest MRJ, number 298, which is out now. ...

Not on MY doormat yet ..... hopefully tomorrow !

[Pteremy]

On 02/09/2023 at 15:03, melmerby said:

Having had my 2 siphons for a few weeks not I have noticed some things that could be improved.

1, Spring hangers - Why are they not attached to the bogie frame? As they are, they are extremely fragile and easily bent or knocked off.

 

One siphon is now missing 3, 2 are in the box for safe keeping, the third is lost.

I intend to drop a spot of super glue where the trunnion (?) sits alongside the bogie frame to make them more robust.

 

2, Steps - Most of mine were a little askew, unfortunately a tweak with small pliers immediately removes the black paint. Should be easily remedied.

 

3, Corridor connection, one came off as I opened the plastic shell, seems that they just push in. I thought they would be glued.

 

Anyone else found the same?

 

I see no one has commented on your post. I have not had the same issues although my second siphon had a couple of loose fittings out of the box. But the 'flaking paint' issue resonated with me because I have just experienced that with a Heljan 10800 when moving the white handrails back into position after fitting a decoder. As you say easily remedied - but doesn't suggest that the designers factored in 'normal use'.

 

The reason for posting is that I do feel that that is a risk that usability is not being given sufficient weight when designing and implementing the fantastic level of detail now being offered. I don't mean roughy tumble train set usability. But I do think that it ought to be possible for a careful and experienced modeller to put a high spec model through a decent running session without being in fear of key parts pinging off onto the track (or worse).

[cctransuk]

20 minutes ago, Pteremy said:

 

I see no one has commented on your post. I have not had the same issues although my second siphon had a couple of loose fittings out of the box. But the 'flaking paint' issue resonated with me because I have just experienced that with a Heljan 10800 when moving the white handrails back into position after fitting a decoder. As you say easily remedied - but doesn't suggest that the designers factored in 'normal use'.

 

The reason for posting is that I do feel that that is a risk that usability is not being given sufficient weight when designing and implementing the fantastic level of detail now being offered. I don't mean roughy tumble train set usability. But I do think that it ought to be possible for a careful and experienced modeller to put a high spec model through a decent running session without being in fear of key parts pinging off onto the track (or worse).

 

Flaking paint - this has always been a problem when components are made from a flexible plastic (polypropylene?).

 

Such items as handrails MUST be able to resist bending without breaking, but the flexible, 'shiny' plastics do not take paint well - a bit of a dilemma for manufacturers?

 

..... anyone remember the original Airfix station passengers /platform staff, or the military figures?

 

CJi.

[The Stationmaster]

42 minutes ago, cctransuk said:

 

Flaking paint - this has always been a problem when components are made from a flexible plastic (polypropylene?).

 

Such items as handrails MUST be able to resist bending without breaking, but the flexible, 'shiny' plastics do not take paint well - a bit of a dilemma for manufacturers?

 

..... anyone remember the original Airfix station passengers /platform staff, or the military figures?

 

CJi.

Remember them?  I've still got some somewhere and not only difficult to paint but even more difficult for the paint to stay on them. 

[Wickham Green too]

At least handrails can be moulded in the right colour or metal components chemically blackened - economics permitting !

[melmerby]

3 hours ago, cctransuk said:

Flaking paint - this has always been a problem when components are made from a flexible plastic (polypropylene?).

The steps look like they are made of brass, they are not plastic.

 

The thing that nobody seems to have mentioned anywhere, which I brought up, are the spring hangers. And nobody picked it up from my comment.

They are just wrong, not as prototype.

The bottom end should be part of the bogie not hanging in mid air. the rod should go from the spring into a bush on the bogie.

Had it been modelled like that the rod could've been a length of wire from one to the other and substantially more robust.

 

Edited September 6, 2023 by melmerby

[gwrrob]

There's an excellent article in the latest MRJ 298 by Great Western modeller deluxe @Bulwell Hall Gerry Beale, where he adds a few of his touches to 2780 to make an already very good model ,into an outstanding one. Maybe he could share a photo of the completed model here ?

[Wickham Green too]

3 hours ago, gwrrob said:

There's an excellent article in the latest MRJ 298 by Great Western modeller deluxe @Bulwell Hall Gerry Beale, ...

Excellent indeed - apart from his questioning the fitting of square-shank buffers ....... very odd !

[cctransuk]

1 hour ago, Wickham Green too said:

Excellent indeed - apart from his questioning the fitting of square-shank buffers ....... very odd !

 

Not really - the real things were rectangular shank.

 

Though I don't have the model in question, I assumed from his comment that the shanks have been modelled as square.

 

CJI.

[Flood]

Squares are rectangles, as are oblongs.

[Wickham Green too]

Practicalities of manufacturing, presumably ??!?

[gwrrob]

Here's my 2780.

 

[Graham108]

If anybody's looking for one or more of these they're on sale @ Model Railways Direct, with a 25% DISCOUNT - https://modelrailwaysdirect.co.uk/special-offers.html?manufacturer=2709&p=3

[Dunsignalling]

11 hours ago, Flood said:

Squares are rectangles, as are oblongs.

 

As the teacher in my last year at primary school (more years ago than I have any right to remember), taught us:

 

"All squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares." 😃

 

Use of the word oblong was "discouraged", and I never use it. He considered it redundant, as the use of the word rectangular implied unequal pairs of sides, "square" being the correct description of regular examples.

 

Funny the things that really stick; I think it may be down to the regard in which we held the source....

 

John

 

 

Edited September 10, 2023 by Dunsignalling

[Wickham Green too]

Yet 'rectangular' just means right-angled and 'oblong' - which I rarely use either - does preclude a rectangle with equal sides !!! ...................... hmmmm !

[David C]

I felt like cheering when I read Pteremy's post of 6th September about the useability of the latest generation of models. (I only saw it today). I also wonder at how often and how much handling of them all those who post adulatory comments about them have actually done. I suspect many models are destined for display shelves or they are used on large permanent layouts where there is little or no need to touch them.

 

I have two layouts, both of which are terminus to fiddle yard set ups and both are portable as I haven't got room to have them up and working at the same time. Besides, I also like to exhibit and when they do appear in public, get operated intensively, sometimes by friends who don't quite appreciate how fragile the later models are. For home use, the fiddle yards have cassettes, but  the turnround of trains was not speedy enough to keep the public entertained so I built sector plates for exhibitions. 

 

One of my layouts is H0 German prototype and many of the European manufacturers have been ahead of the "high end" game than those operating in the British market. Fragile, "bendy" plastic handrails, pipework and the like are now almost standard on the other side of Channel. (I assume the use of "bendy" and unpaintable plastic is to reduce breakages, but it doesn't!)  My heart sinks when I spot yet another tiny bit of broken detail as I pack up at the end of an exhibition or when swopping over my layouts at home. Of course, it may be that I, and those who help out at shows are particularly ham fisted, but I don't think I and my mates are any more than the rest of the population. I just wish manufacturers would design their products to be a little more robust so that modellers can actually handle them without damage! Nothing looks more unrealistic than missing or broken detail - and if the manufacturers say that building in robustness would increase costs, then perhaps they might like to think about not including some of the details that can't be seen, like the luggage racks that Rapido are including in their B set models! (Yes, I know this is a different thread).

 

I have a Siphon G, but have yet to swop the couplings for my favoured DGs, replace the corridor connections and weather it yet, It looks very nice, too, but the corridor hangers and a couple of other bits are of bendy plastic ......  I'll report later on how long they survive on Woodstowe!

 

David C

[Phil Bullock]

15 minutes ago, David C said:

I felt like cheering when I read Pteremy's post of 6th September about the useability of the latest generation of models. (I only saw it today). I also wonder at how often and how much handling of them all those who post adulatory comments about them have actually done. I suspect many models are destined for display shelves or they are used on large permanent layouts where there is little or no need to touch them.

 

I have two layouts, both of which are terminus to fiddle yard set ups and both are portable as I haven't got room to have them up and working at the same time. Besides, I also like to exhibit and when they do appear in public, get operated intensively, sometimes by friends who don't quite appreciate how fragile the later models are. For home use, the fiddle yards have cassettes, but  the turnround of trains was not speedy enough to keep the public entertained so I built sector plates for exhibitions. 

 

One of my layouts is H0 German prototype and many of the European manufacturers have been ahead of the "high end" game than those operating in the British market. Fragile, "bendy" plastic handrails, pipework and the like are now almost standard on the other side of Channel. (I assume the use of "bendy" and unpaintable plastic is to reduce breakages, but it doesn't!)  My heart sinks when I spot yet another tiny bit of broken detail as I pack up at the end of an exhibition or when swopping over my layouts at home. Of course, it may be that I, and those who help out at shows are particularly ham fisted, but I don't think I and my mates are any more than the rest of the population. I just wish manufacturers would design their products to be a little more robust so that modellers can actually handle them without damage! Nothing looks more unrealistic than missing or broken detail - and if the manufacturers say that building in robustness would increase costs, then perhaps they might like to think about not including some of the details that can't be seen, like the luggage racks that Rapido are including in their B set models! (Yes, I know this is a different thread).

 

I have a Siphon G, but have yet to swop the couplings for my favoured DGs, replace the corridor connections and weather it yet, It looks very nice, too, but the corridor hangers and a couple of other bits are of bendy plastic ......  I'll report later on how long they survive on Woodstowe!

 

David C

In my experience with taking stock to exhibitions the biggest risk to detail is to keep them in the original packing. There are much better options available…. 

[David C]

I agree that the packaging used these days is often fraught with danger, but I was thinking more of damage in everyday use. Most end to end layouts involve picking up locos and coupling them up to the other end of trains, but even simply maintaining  them leads to damage. My British layout uses mostly Bachmann stock: 45XX and 57/87xx locos which are now "middle aged"  in model terms, but they are still reasonably well detailed models. True, the handrails project too far out and the smokebox door handles would look better if they had not been moulded on, but it is hard to think what else needs doing to them. Most importantly, they are robust and I haven't had to repair any of them. 

 

I only have to look at my German stock on the other hand .....

 

David C

[The Johnster]

The packaging is designed primarily for delivery shipping to protect the model, with ease of removal or replacement being a secondary consideration.  I’m not conscious of major handling issues on my BLT where a lot of what we used to call crane shunting occurs, using mostly Bachmann and Hornby stock.  Three locos have given issues, a Hornby 42xx that everything fell off of snd had to be superglued back on, a W4 ‘Forest No.1 with very delicate whistle linkage which broke off because I looked at it, and a Baccy 3MT which has difficulty hanging on to it’s front steps. 

 

No trouble with Baccy panniers, small prairies, 56xx.  And I’m pretty ham-fisted; if there’s s fragile part of a model, I’ll break it every time.  I pick locos ip by the tanks and the handrails on my panniers don’t seem to object!

 

That said, it is clearly an area that manufacturers need to be aware of.  The gangway hangers on this model look as if you could break them by looking hard at them, but picking the model up by it’s sides should avoid problems.  And you can always glue things back on!

Edited September 19, 2023 by The Johnster

[andybuttterworth1962]

Picked up a couple of these from fleebay at £35 a pop for the NNV Newspaper variant. Have to say that these are seriously impressive models, probably the best I've ever seen. Love the sustantial box and vehicle info sheet as well. Other manufacturers should take note.

Edited September 30, 2023 by andybuttterworth1962
Spelling

[46444]

The GWR square shanked buffers on the Syphon G's are very nicely done.

 

It would be good to have these made available as spare parts for upgrading older models.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark 

[ChrisB]

Does anyone know if the white doors on these pics of 1048 at Barnstaple in the early 80s are a one off or did all of the NNVs have them.

[The Stationmaster]

20 hours ago, ChrisB said:

Does anyone know if the white doors on these pics of 1048 at Barnstaple in the early 80s are a one off or did all of the NNVs have them.

Not white if memory serves me well but a very pale version of some other colour.  I'm pretty sure that the C&W at Old Oak didn't have access to white gloss paint in those days (Dave exOCC might know?).

 

I reckon it will be the same colour as the gangway door in this photo of mine taken at Old Oak in 1983 - so it's actually. a very pale grey which varies in hue according to the light you see it in.

 

[cctransuk]

22 minutes ago, The Stationmaster said:

Not white if memory serves me well but a very pale version of some other colour.  I'm pretty sure that the C&W at Old Oak didn't have access to white gloss paint in those days (Dave exOCC might know?).

 

I reckon it will be the same colour as the gangway door in this photo of mine taken at Old Oak in 1983 - so it's actually. a very pale grey which varies in hue according to the light you see it in.

 

 

I don't think that there is any question about the colour of these gangway doors - Rail (Monastral) Grey.

 

CJI.

[Fredo]

Hi Fran, 

In last months Locomotive Illustrated Magazine I saw that Syphon G vans were used on Exhibition Trains in a different livery. Have you considered making a model in this condition. Thanks Fred

Sorry RM web has attached the screenshots upside down for some reason…